I Loved This Omg

I loved this omg

Hot take I never really got the whole sam craze. I never read TAB til I was waiting for KOA to come out and from all the people going crazy for him I thought he would be like an angel on the earth, the sweetest being possible (maybe I went in with to high of expectations) but then I read it and was like “this dude is kind of an asshole” like sure there were moments where he was fine but then he died so no progress with his character so I don’t get why people are so attached to him we knew him for like half a book I cried when he died but not because of him but because of what he meant to her and how much pain she was in he was just ok

i have legit no attachment to sam lol. i think everyone loves him because she remembers him mostly through a rose colored lens, kinda how one does when somebody dies. i hate all the posts that are like “celaena belonged to sam and lillian belonged to dorian” or whatever the fuck because i think it’s so goddamn stupid lmfao aelin has only ever belonged to herself and she chooses rowan and he chooses her that’s it goodbye.

but sam was an asshole? like he wasn’t nice. she didn’t even know he remotely liked her until he spelled out for her because he was such a dick. i think she kinda only had feelings for him bc she was A. young and B. had no other real options at the time.

i don’t even think she believed a lot of what she said at the grave. i think she was sad and musing things because she was finally getting closure and she was feeling guilty because she was in love with rowan and she’s too hard on herself.

and sam would have been a shitty king lol. i also don’t think that he would have wholly accepted aelin for who she was with her magic and everything. but like, yeah i feel you. i read TAB and was like this is...... this is it? okay. sure.

I forgot to add a tag list to my chapter 😅 sorry everyone!!

Tag list: @backtobl4ck @aelinchocolatelover @renxzs

♥️♥️🫶

Twin Wounds Chapter 5

Hello everyone! Hope you are having an amazing week :) Here is another Twin Wounds chapter for you! I love reading your comments and everyone's collective hatred of Remelle 🤣

I hope you enjoy!(Sorry I don't have a ton to say, I'm tired haha) This chapter is shorter, I apologise.

Word Count: 1.8k(small i'm sorry)

Warnings: Language, Self-Harm, Light Smut, Depressive Thoughts/Bad Mental Health

Apparently at the Whitethorn Rehab Center, patients went to an hour-long yoga class twice a week - and now Aelin and her group were suffering through their first session.

Sweat dripped down Aelin’s forehead and into her eyes as she forced her limbs to hold  a plank as her instructor, Sheedra, had said to do. She risked a glance to her side and found Lysandra collapsed on the ground - asleep. Aelin raised incredulous eyes to the left and found Elide gaping at Lysandra. Their eyes met and a smile quirked both their mouths.

Aelin immediately dropped it and looked back down to the ground. She hadn’t smiled in twelve months, and a few days at a rehab center and she was all smiles and giggles? No way. I’m not doing this. 

“Lysandra,” Sheedra crooned in her honeyed voice. It was lulling and soft, and combined with the heat of the room, the sage smoking in the corner, and the soft mats, Aelin didn’t blame her fellow patient for taking a cat nap. The yoga instructor crossed the room to Lysandra and gently shook her awake. 

Lysandra jumped up, wide-eyed. Sheedra withdrew her hand immediately and smoothed her gray tank top. “Lysandra, dear, you were asleep.” 

Lysandra flushed and muttered an apology. Sheedra sighed. “Alright everyone, you can drop your planks. Yoga is over for today - I’ll see you Wednesday!”

The room was filled with groans of relief and dread of the next session. Aelin collapsed onto her mat, rolling her wrists in relief. She found Lysandra and Elide inching closer to her, and sat up.

“Oh my god, I absolutely detest yoga now,” Lysandra whispered. Her long brown hair was a mess, strands sticking to her face. Aelin wasn’t sure she looked much better herself. 

Elide giggled at her, a small happy sound that once would have made Aelin smile. Elide was perfectly prim and proper, her hair up in a neat ponytail and her comfortable gray shorts and T-shirt not sweaty at all. 

“How the hell are you so clean, girl?” Lysandra squawked, gaping. “Are you not exhausted? Why do you look like a runway model and I look like this?”

Elide blushed. “I took yoga for years in high school.” She took a sip from her blue water bottle. “It was…one of the only things that calmed me down.” 

Lysandra nodded, solomon. “I get that. I volunteered at my animal shelter…taking care of those innocent animals that people had hurt…well, it was healing in a way.”

The two women looked to Aelin. She hesitated, but a small voice in the back of her mind whispered; Go on. Make friends. He would want you to. Aelin took a deep breath and said, “I took self-defense and worked out at the gym. Like you all said…it cleared my head.”

Lysandra nodded at her and Elide beamed. Aelin forced a small smile toward the woman, her chest feeling a little lighter.

__

Aelin was so tired from yoga that she actually ate the sandwich offered to her at dinner. It felt odd to eat bread again - she’d forgotten how good it was. She sat and ate silently while her group talked and laughed together. Tiela, who apparently had declared Aelin her mortal enemy, kept shooting glares at her the whole meal. 

After dinner, Aelin took her first shower after a couple of days, scrubbing herself with the lovely-smelling rose shampoo lining the walls. Finally, she sat down on her bed, exhaustion lining her body. But no sleep came.

She stared at the wall ahead of her, shadows flickering across her vision. Without even realizing it, a tear fell down her cheek. One single tear, followed by a second, then a third, then a fourth, and then Aelin was silently weeping, alone and isolated in her room at rehab. 

Twenty minutes later, her sobs had ceased. 

She lay in bed on top of her sheets, in a soft tank top and boxers, a fresh, bleeding red cut slashed across her rib cage. 

___

Remelle rolled off Rowan, panting. Again, they had met up at her work’s parking lot, even though Rowan had tried to ask her on a date. 

“No thank you,” Remelle snorted over the phone. “Where the hell is this coming from, anyway? I thought we had an agreement. If a girlfriend is what you want, find somebody else, man. Can’t get it here.”  Rowan felt the back of his neck burn with shame and embarrassment at her disgusted rejection. He mumbled an apology and headed out to his car to go meet her. 

After a semi-uncomfortable round of sex, Rowan sat up, covering himself with a blanket he had in his trunk. Remelle watched him, her arms above her head, hair sprayed everywhere. “Hey, Muscles,” she whispered. “I need a favor.”

Rowan looked down at her, fiddling with the fuzz of the blanket. “Uhm, okay?”

Remelle sat up too, sitting on his lap. She looked him dead in the eyes, and Rowan wanted to crawl away and hide from her stare. “You know I’m a student,” she began. 

A revolting thought entered his mind - “Wait, actually, how old are you?” 

Remelle rolled her eyes. “I’m twenty. Can I please continue? God.” Rowan nodded, embarrassed. Twenty. She’s seven years younger than me. That’s not great…am I being creepy?

“SO, being a student is really expensive, and I’ve noticed you have, like, a really nice car and… uhm…,” Remelle surveyed his clothes on the floor, wrinkling her nose. “..an…interesting style that looks expensive. So…would you mind letting me borrow some money?” 

Rowan choked, jolting upward. Remelle clung to him, holding his shoulders so tight it almost hurt. She looked up at him with a pleading expression. “Please, muscles. I need this.” 

Rowan cleared his throat. “Well…how much do you need?”

Remelle grinned and placed a smacking kiss on the corner of his mouth. He felt her lip gloss there. Sticky. 

__

Mondays sucked, even in a rehab center. Aelin was forced out of bed by a rude nurse at 8am, when she was shuffled into the cafeteria. After a breakfast of an apple, she and her group went outside.

“It’s so nice out,” Tiela laughed, skipping as they reached outside. Her previous grouchy mood had been completely transformed, her face lit up and exuberant. It made her radiant. Aelin noticed Selmer was watching her, mesmerized. 

Lysandra saw the same thing, and she not-so-subtly wiggled her eyebrows. Aelin didn’t smile, but a small part of her wanted to - wanted to laugh and gossip with Lysandra. But she couldn’t, and the sore scab on her ribs was just a harsh reminder of that. 

Lysandra read something on Aelin’s face, and turned away to Elide. Aelin began to walk away from the group when she was intercepted with the rude nurse from earlier. “Excuse me, hold on,” he barked. “You have a therapy session scheduled.” 

Aelin frowned. “Group therapy isn’t for a couple hours, correct?”

“You aren’t participating in group therapy today. Your therapist..,” he checked his clipboard, eyes scanning the page, “..Rowan Whitethorn scheduled a one-on-one therapy session for you, right about now.”

___

His hand was warm and soft and strong when she shook it, and for half a second she wondered how it would feel in other places. Aelin swallowed as she sat down in the chair across from Rowan, who was giving her a kind smile. The therapy room was much different from the group therapy room. It was smaller but cozy, with a plush pink rug on the floor and two massive, furry bean bags for chairs. The walls were bare except for some god-awful inspirational posters, that said things like Mindset is Everything and Allow Your Light to Shine Brightly. The far wall had a large window that allowed sunlight to stream in. She wanted to close the blinds.

“I’m so glad you could meet me, Aelin,” Rowan said. He had a notebook open in his lap and a pen in his hand. The sound of her name on his lips sent a thrill toward her, but she shoved it aside. Surveying his face, she couldn’t help but notice purple smudges under his beautiful eyes and a drawn, sad look about his face. He was still handsome, but looked pretty terrible.

“Aren’t therapists supposed to be healthy?” she blurted out, interrupting what he was about to say. Fuck. The confused look on Rowan’s face told her he had no idea what she was talking about. Might as well continue, she thought. “It’s just, like…you have really bad dark circles and you kind of look depressed. I thought you were supposed to be setting an example.” The last bit of her phrase, she smirked at him. 

Rowan looked startled, and she could have sworn that when she smirked, his ears went pink. But he cleared his throat and looked her dead in the eyes. “Yes, therapists are supposed to set a good example for their patients. I’m sorry if I caused you any stress in looking at me. I will buy some concealer and use it if you’d wish, or I could resign from my position as your therapist if it makes you feel more comfortable, I-”

“Woah woah woah, buddy! You don’t need to do that!” Aelin stared at him, eyes wide. The man had just become Wikipedia, offering to quit because of a comment. At his anxious expression, a laugh slipped out of her. 

Oh. Shit. Her body went cold, nausea sweeping through her. She hadn’t laughed since him. Traitor, a small voice said. She didn’t push it away - instead, let the word cover her mind. She was a traitor. She should never, ever, ever laugh again, not when He had been taken. Her breaths came quicker and quicker, short pants that didn’t relieve her lungs at all. Her throat was closing up, and she was going to cry in front of her therapist, and oh my god where was that damn knife, i need it i need it i need it-

“Aelin,” a gentle voice interrupted her rising hysteria, a liferaft in a sea of black. Aelin snapped back to reality at the sound of her name on his lips. Rowan had walked closer to her - not so close she could smell him, but enough she could feel his beckoning warmth, his every being calling out to her. She closed her eyes. How could she feel this way? She was betraying everything she’d had with Him by lusting after the first hot guy to come her way. 

“Here.” Aelin opened her eyes to see a small stress ball in Rowan’s extended hand. 

“I’m not seven, I don’t need a stress toy,” she scoffed. 

“I know they seem childish, but they do help. I use a stress toy…do you think I’m immature?” She was surprised to hear the slight humor in his tone. Shaking her head, she reached out and grasped the stress toy, warm from his hand. At his encouraging face, Aelin gave it a squeeze. 

“What do you think?”

“It feels…nice.”

𝐿𝓊𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓃 & 𝐸𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃

I was planning on saving this art for Elucien week in July, but I’m just so excited to share this with you guys that I decided to drop it early!

I’ve always wanted to do a commission with Elain and Lucien kissing in the rain and @witchlingsandwyverns did such an incredible job.

Her artwork is so beautiful. She’s so talented. Thank you so much for this beautiful Elucien art.

Also, Elain with bangs is my new favorite thing 🔥🔥

Link to Instagram post

Characters belong to Sarah J Maas

Twin Wounds Chapter 4

Here is another chapterrr :3 I made it extra long because you all have been so nice and supportive! (I went to a coffee shop and wrote this chapter eating a grilled cheese sandwich like a real writer!!)

Tag List: WE HAVE AN AMAZING NEW MEMBER. THIS PERSON COMMENTS THE SWEETEST THINGS ON MY POSTS AND I LOVE READING THEM!! PLEASE WELCOME...@aelinchocolatelover!! As always, also huge thanks to @backtobl4ck :)

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Language, Light Smut :3

Enjoy!! :)

 People can be homes. Sure, Aelin scoffed. Apparently, her therapy group was a bunch of cringey idiots. And her fucking hot therapist was the most infuriating person she had ever met. Her palms hurt from her nails digging into them all the while he had looked at her. She couldn’t handle his beautiful eyes looking at her knowingly. As if he knew what she was going through. 

After another miserable half hour of therapy, the group was herded to an outside area. People were gathered around talking like it was high school recess. The area was a large grassy field, some proud oak trees scattered around. Another nurse, Beluar, smiled at their group and motioned for them to mingle. 

Lysandra immediately sat down on a bench beneath a tree, Lucas following suit. “That was a stupid session,” she said, her eyes closed.

“I..I don’t know, I liked it,” Elide said softly, flushing when Tiela nodded at her. “What about you, Aelin?” 

Aelin looked Elide up and down. She thought the female was sweet, was probably a great person, and had been through some traumatic things. But Aelin didn’t have the energy to dredge up small talk and form friendships. She shrugged, staring at the ground. 

“It’s rude not to answer somebody,” a cold voice said, and Aelin’s eyes snapped up to Tiela, who was looking at her with an disgusted expression. 

Aelin bristled. “Are you my mother?” 

“No, thank God,” Tiela smirked. “I’m sure you were a nightmare. Even worse than you are now.”

Aelin grinded her teeth. Tiela must have still been salty from therapy. “I’m not going to waste my time listening to this shit,” she growled, standing up and storming away. She felt her anger cloud around her head, blocking out other senses, before she slammed into something hard. She cursed and looked up, ready to fight, before she was faced with an eyeful of her therapist. 

He was even hotter up close, so close that she could see his eyelashes - so close she could smell him. He smelled like pine and snow, a scent so nice she almost closed her eyes and leaned in - before realizing what was going on. She lurched back, muttering an apology - but in her haste, she tripped and almost fell over. 

Rowan reached out and steadied her, his hand warm and strong on her arm. It sent electricity through her body, and she looked up at him, breathless. “Are you all right, Aelin?” he asked, his beautiful face twisted into concern. 

“I’m. Fine.” she gritted out. Realization seemed to cross Rowan’s face and he immediately let go of her arm. Aelin felt cold where his hand used to be and crossed her arms. 

“I’m…I’m sorry that this isn’t an ideal place to be,” Rowan said to her softly. Aelin raised her eyebrows at the sudden change of tone in the conversation, and her therapist scratched the back of his head. “I know you’d rather be at your home, maybe with your cousin-” Aelin’s expression at that must have been alarmed, because Rowan stammered; “I-I know him from your file.”

Aelin cocked her head. “My…file?” Rowan nodded, and a horrible thought crept into her mind. “What….what is in my file?” she breathed. 

Rowan rubbed his neck and looked at the ground. “Oh, you know, the usual. Er, a photo of you, a little from your cousin, and….ehm, things of that sort.” From that terrible performance, Aelin had a pretty good idea what else was in her file - but she didn’t, couldn’t, handle that shame. 

“Alright,” she said, forcing herself to believe him. She didn’t let herself consider the alternative - that the staff at this place knew about Him. She felt sadness replace the anger in her stomach, and she hugged herself. Find the knife, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered. Aelin shoved it aside. 

“Actually, I wanted to talk to your group,” Rowan continued, bringing Aelin back to reality with a start. He squinted into the distance where her group was still sitting and began walking to them. Aelin followed behind, cursing mentally that she had to go back to those judgy people. As she neared the group, Lysandra looked her up and down and subtly moved to the side of the bench - making a place for Aelin. Aelin mentally debated before sitting down next to the woman. 

“Hello, everyone - long time no see?” Rowan chuckled to himself. The rest of the group stared at him in dead silence, and he hastily continued. “I wanted to talk to all of you. I forgot to mention something at group therapy today. At the Whitethorn Rehab Center, patients are allowed one phone call a day to a person of your choice, whether it be a family member, a friend, or a loved one. We have an hour a day designated for this purpose -- 10-11pm – but if you’d like to make a call at a specific time, just tell a staff member and they can help. If your person of choice doesn’t pick up the call, you will be allowed one other time during the day.”

The group perked up at that, and even Aelin felt a bit lighter. At least she could still talk to Aedion. Maybe she could convince him to get her out of this place.

 “Are you alright, Lysandra?” Elide asked softly. Aelin turned, and to her surprise, the female beside her was watery-eyed.

“I’m fine,” she said thickly. “Just..I’m excited to have a call.”

“Who will you call?” Rowan asked in that gentle, understanding voice he used with them, the voice that made Aelin feel safer than she had in a while. 

“My niece.” Lysandra blinked a couple times, clearing her tears away, and set her shoulders. “I’m practically her mother. She’s staying with her grandmother right now, but…she doesn’t like it very much. She’ll be very happy when she learns I can call.” 

The group nodded. “Actually, it’s time for calls,” Rowan said. “Shall we make our way?”

Twenty minutes later, Aelin was dialing Aedion on one of those old phones you always saw at a police station. She leaned against the brick wall, listening to the phone ring, before lurching up straight as she heard the click of a call.

“Hello?” Aedion’s voice crackled through the line, and Aelin let out a breath. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her cousin. 

“Hey, Aedion. It’s Aelin.”

“Aelin? Are you okay? Do you need help?” Aedion asked frantically.

“No, I’m fine. We get a call every day at this place.” Aedion let out an appreciative hum, but Aelin pressed on. “But actually, yeah, I would like some help. I want you to come pick me up.”

__

Rowan sat in his office, trying to calm the heat in his blood. One fucking look, one fucking touch and he was no more than the horny teenager he had once been. It was disgusting, him thirsting after his patient who was three years younger than him.

And yet - and yet Rowan could have sworn that heat had flashed in Aelin’s eyes as she looked at him through her lashes. 

Move past it, man, Rowan chided himself. He checked his watch - 12. Time for lunch. He pulled out his Tupperware and began to eat his sandwich, pulling out his phone. He’d texted Remelle earlier to say he’d gotten her number, and she had texted him back.

Remelle: Hello muscles 

Me: Hey

Remelle: Oooo hello good sir

Remelle: What you doing?

Me: I’m on my lunch break 

Remelle: what do you even do?

Me: therapist

Remelle: ….

Remelle: mm k

Me: what

Remelle: nothin, that’s a notable career

Remelle: good for you

Me: ..thanks

Rowan frowned at his phone screen. He couldn’t help feeling a little hurt at Remelle’s obvious distaste for his profession. 

Remelle: ANYWAY

Remelle: I was wondering if you r free tonight

Me: I am 

Remelle: 😈

Remelle: My shift ends at 11

Remelle: meet me there?

Me: sure. 

Me: do you want to go to a place or….

Remelle: nah car hookups are hot

Me: ok heh

Me: see you then i guess

Remelle: 😘

Rowan closed his phone and sat back in his chair, taking the last bite of his sandwich. However awkward their conversation was, he was looking forward to seeing Remelle again. He needed to get Aelin out of his head and focus on his career, dammit. 

Though, that might be harder than he thought, given that Rowan had already scheduled a one on one therapy session with Aelin for Monday. Dammit, Rowan cursed himself. Well, that’s a problem for Monday Rowan. Not Friday Rowan. 

____

“Did you have a nice talk with your niece?”

Lysandra looked up, surprised, but Aelin was even more startled with the question that had slipped out of her mouth. Lysandra gave her a tentative smile. “She’s well, happy to hear from me. Luckily her grandmother isn’t being too terrible. Yet.”

Aelin nodded. “Good.” 

They were sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch, all of them quiet after their phone calls. No matter how much Aelin begged, Aedion had insisted she stay at the center.

“Please, Aelin. They are here to help, I promise. You just have to let them in,” Aedion had pleaded. 

“I fucking hate this, Aedion!” she’d hissed into the phone, not wanting to be overheard. “Please, if you still love me, come pick me up. This is not helping.”

Her cousin had been silent for a few long moments, quiet enough she’d thought the line had dropped, before saying; “Just give it two weeks. If you feel the same then, I’ll pick you up.” 

“Fine.”

“I’m sorry, Aelin. I just want to help.”

Aelin had let out a breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I know. It’s okay, Aedion. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Aelin snapped back to reality to find her group staring at her expectantly. “Er, what was that?” she asked awkwardly, shoving a potato chip into her mouth. She had finally given into her hunger and had grabbed a bag of chips. 

“I just asked who you called,” Elide smiled at her. 

“Oh, uhm…,” Aelin debated for half a second whether to actually tell them, but she didn’t have the energy to make up a lie. “My cousin, Aedion.”

“Is he the one who checked you in?” Lysandra asked. The woman again had sat next to her at lunch and was now eating a bowl of soup. The steam flowed up and around Lysandra’s face - with that and her near-glowing emerald eyes, she created an eerie appearance. 

Aelin dipped her head. “Yes.”

“My mother checked me in,” Elide said quietly. All eyes went to her and she took a small bite of bread. She chewed for a while, her face contemplative, before continuing. “She checked me in because of my bulimia. I had relapsed since joining a….a not so nice group of girls. She was distraught. I’d been bulimic since I can remember, but it stopped for a while, and then…high school.”

The group was quiet for a while. “I’m sorry,” Lysandra said softly. She reached out and covered Elide’s hand with her own. Lucas gave Elide a side hug, and Tiela and Selmer murmured their apologies. Aelin looked into the female’s dark, depthless eyes and gave her a nod. A nod of respect and sorrow for her, something she hoped to convey in the action. From the small light in Elide’s eyes, Aelin knew she understood. 

___

“Have a good weekend, Sellene,” Rowan called over his shoulder as he left the building into the pitch black night. Sellene echoed the sentiment and Rowan walked across the parking lot to his car. 

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Rowan sat in the dark, the only light being his phone screen. It was 9pm and he still had two hours before he was going to see Remelle. Two hours, with nothing to do. He sighed and pulled out of the parking lot, driving to the gym. 

When he entered the locker room, he was immediately met by Lorcan, Rowan’s closest friend and gym buddy. The rough-looking man with dark wavy hair that brushed his shoulders and intense black eyes clapped Rowan on the shoulder. “Rowan. Dude. Why the hell did you ditch me last night?”

“I met a girl,” Rowan brushed him off, opening his locker. He pulled his shirt off and began changing.

“Oooo, a girl,” Lorcan cooed sarcastically. He rolled his eyes. “You could’ve texted, man.”

“I did!” Rowan protested, tying his shoelaces. 

Lorcan frowned. “Uh, no you didn’t.”

Before Rowan could say anymore, another man entered the locker room - Fenrys. He was also Rowan’s friend, but they weren’t as close. Fenrys was a beautiful man with year-round tan skin and golden hair. He gave Lorcan and Rowan a wolfish grin as he passed. 

“My dudes,” he crowed. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“It’s been two weeks, Fenrys,” Lorcan sighed, dropping his previous argument. He tied up his hair into a ponytail and left the locker room. Fenrys frowned at his back, and turned to Rowan with raised eyebrows. 

“I have no idea what’s up with him.” Rowan finished changing and watched Fenrys unwind from the gym. “I’m just here for a quick workout before…er, before something else.”

“Oh ho,” Fenrys said, his eyes wide. “I know that look! Are you seeing a girl, darling Rowan?”

Rowan forced his face to stay straight. Fenrys’s grin stretched wider, seeing through him. “Nice, my guy. Good for you.”

___

After a nice core workout, Rowan was sweaty and gross as he drove to Remelle’s bar. Great, now she’ll think I’m nasty, he groaned inwardly as he gave himself a much-needed self-sniff. He applied some emergency deodorant, but it didn’t really help. 

At 11:15, Remelle emerged from the building, its pounding music heard from outside. She scanned the parking lot before grinning as she spotted Rowan. She nearly skipped over to his car, hopping into the backseat where Rowan waited. 

“Hey,” Rowan said, smiling awkwardly. “How was work?”

“I don’t really want to talk, you idiot,” Remelle laughed, leaning in to kiss him. Her mouth was sticky and she smelled like alcohol again. He wrapped his arms around her back, leaning into the kiss. Remelle stroked her hands down his arms, pulling away to say against his lips; “Holy shit you are jacked!” 

“Just got back from the gym,” Rowan grunted, pulling back to look at her. She wore her uniform, but her top three buttons were undone. 

Remelle wrinkled her nose. “That explains why you smell like a dead mouse.” Rowan winced and opened his mouth to apologize before she covered it with her own. Remelle pushed him back onto the seat, laying him down, and giggled as she leaned over him. Rowan stared up at her, her smudged mascara and flushed face. 

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, and meant it. This was perfect - Remelle was an attractive, nice female - maybe they could date. When he was with her, he totally didn’t think about a certain patient. Not at all. 

Remelle rolled her eyes. “I don’t need the compliments, I know already.” She leaned in and pressed rough kisses against Rowan’s neck. He felt his neck becoming sticky, and he sat up on his elbows. 

“Er, would you mind wiping your mouth?” he asked awkwardly. Remelle didn’t look up at him, kissing across his collarbone. “Um, it’s just, your lipgloss or whatever. It’s sticky.” 

“Oh my fucking god, fine,” Remelle groaned, sitting up. She grabbed Rowan’s gross gym shirt and wiped her mouth with it. Rowan felt a pit in the bottom of his stomach form as he watched her. 

“Sorry.” Great - now he was uncomfortable and Remelle seemed annoyed. The woman shot him a glare and then let out a breath, unbuttoning her top to reveal her generous bosom. 

She advanced toward him then, lips stretching to a wicked grin. “It’s okay. You’re lucky you’re hot.”

SO EXCITED

I promised an Aelin Week surprise for you today. Unfortunately, I’m late. Not later than Aelin on ch. 4, though [insert awkward laughter at my terrible joke here]

Below the cut, there’s a

✨snippet✨

“No…” Aelin bumped the little girl’s nose. “But you’re a very smart cookie.”

Maisie frowned. “I’m not a cookie.”

She chuckled. “Sorry, kiddo.”

“Not a kiddo!”

Aelin collected Maisie from the couch and Rowan sighed, relieved that their daughter didn’t protest. This time.

“You’re not a cookie. You’re not a kiddo,” Aelin said as she strolled to her daughter’s bedroom. “What are you, then?”

“I’m a Maisie.”

Rowan couldn’t see them, but he could still hear his daughter’s answer, spoken as softly as the kiss Aelin smacked on the little girl.

His whole body relaxed when he heard quiet footsteps coming back. It’s not like he didn’t want Maisie awake and here with them, he was just exhausted from the day. From the week, actually.

“Is she out?”

Aelin snorted. “Like the dead.” She looked around, not really knowing what do with herself and the weird silence that settled. “Don’t you wanna sleep some too? I can make myself scarce.”

Rowan’s body was, indeed, screaming for some rest. He didn’t know what happened when his mouth blurted the opposite thing.

“I was thinking about another movie.” He scratched the back of his head. “Preferably one that doesn’t involve ballerinas and talking animals.”